Day of surgery
Arrival time for surgery was 8:30 AM and had to fast (no food/drink) after midnight of the night before. We got there (wife came along as you can’t drive after surgery) and checked in. Wasn’t too long later we were buzzed (they give you buzzer to hold) as they were ready for us (well me) to come back and get ready for surgery.
We got walked back to the room I would use for both post/and recovery. They gave me the cool gown to wear, good news is you get to keep your boxers (and some dignity) while you slip it on. Then they put some sticky heart monitor things all over your chest/stomach so they can monitor you.
Then they stick you with the needle to pump the drugs/fluids or whatever else you may need. They asked if I wanted to numb the area first (which is still prickly needles with numbing juice), I forgoed that and just got stuck, it was fine. Due note, I am pretty good with needles regardless, but also heard the numbing stuff is just as painful (if you call it painful) as the actual needle poke.
The anesthesia doctor came in and recommended general anesthesia (your completely out during whole time). I was fine with that as I have done it before and my body works well with it (not sick or anything). She did see, other option would be local with nerve block (they poke you in lower spine to block nerve) and then do some happy gas, but I said, no lets stick with full general anesthesia. <resource for difference of anesthesia methods>
9:45 AM and am being wheeled to surgery room, since all my vitals and everything was looking good. Along they way, they asked if I want to start with a relaxer, I said sure, so they pumped something through the IV and almost immediately felt like I was a 6 pack into the progress.
We got to the surgery suite, and I popped on the surgery table. They took my arms and laid them out and draped some towel like over them (no clue why), and then they put a gas mask on, and less then 10-20 seconds I was out.
11:00 AM I started waking up in the post-op recovery room. They said surgery was 55 minutes, and I was only laying here for 20 minutes, so since I was waking up, they then wheeled me to the room I was in prior to surgery (where you clothes etc.. are kept).
They then called back my spouse to join me. I was waking up, feeling good and had a big wrap on my toe. I was actually hungry and thirsty, not sick at all from the drugs. You may differ though of course. So they named off some things to eat, and I stopped them at chocolate muffin, ended up eating two and drinking coffee and water.
12:35 PM, I was discharged, hopped in a wheelchair and they pushed me out to my waiting spouse in vehicle. They gave me hydrocodone for the pain reliever, and said I could take hydrocodone , then 3 hours later take ibuprofen, then back to hydrocodone and repeat until able to stop hydrocodone or it runs out.
Off to recovery.
Have you had it done? What is your experience, or do you have any non-medical specific questions before hand? Let me know in the comments below.
Hi
Thank you, I stubbled upon your blog and it was a great read. I am 3 days post op and read through your entire post. I appreciate your insights. Looking forward to my one year anniversary which seems like forever at the moment. I am very active so sitting all day with my leg up is very hard.
Best,
Linda
I had the surgery 4 weeks ago. I find your timeline comforting that recovery just takes time. Thank you for showing us your experience.
Thanks for the feedback Ron, appreciate it.
Hi, I realize you had your surgery a few years ago, but hoping you’ll answer a question. I’m scheduled next month for my left foot and wondering what shoe you wore on the non-surgical foot to pair with the post-op shoe. Did you find that most sneakers paired well with the sole height of the surgical shoe or was it just trial and error with different shoes? While healing my foot, I don’t want to irritate other parts of my body by throwing off my walking gate by too much. Whatever info you could provide would be great. Thanks
Hi Jace thank you for your reply yes i do believe many dancers have this. I dont find much as to how they recovered and how surgery impacted their dancing.
I would like to share some tips with everyone that helped me manage this condition quite well PRE SURGERY for the last five years. This allowed me time to understand how my body is coping, what can i do to help it and decide what to do. Comparing my X Rays mid 2015 to August 2020, my Hallux ltd. progressed from a stage I to an early stage 2 (the dorsal bone spur grew but the joint space narrowed very marginally only). Almost no pain at all apart from dancing which requires a lot of upward flexibility).
My five tips are (some of them i also will apply now that i am recovering post surgery).
1. Find a podologist that assesses walking (gait) and get custom made insoles. The way we walk is responsable for a lot of joint pain.
2. Comfy shoe selection: Mine is v limited to: trainers with a thick sole (i use nike air); Rocker sole shoes; Birkenstock in Summer; Clocks for home and Uggs for winter. Apart from the clocks i always keep my insole in my shoes (removing the existing sole to fit the insole,; UGGS have a lot of space to fit insole comfy).
3. Keep toes moving with simply exercise: Sit on floor legs stretched out in front, aim keep back straight (if too hard find a wall to keep back straight and supported). Then alternate stretching & flexing feet and toes back as much as possible.
4. Keep tendon that connects big toe to calf muscles from tightening (in medical terms the extensor hallucis longus) . As the big toe does not hit the ground properly it might remain a little bend upward while we walk. This in turn leads to tightness of said tendon causing cramps in calf and other troubles further up the leg. You might not even realise how tight this tendon is but you might wonder why your calf cramps. I use a tennis ball to release tension. In a standing position roll tennis ball underneath your feet massaging your sole. Try to find the tight spot (its somewhere in the middle of the feet on the inner side). You will know when you found it (its a tiny spot with a nasty pain). Then keep tennis ball on that spot placing slowly more weight on the foot and the tender spot. Stay there as long as you can bear it to release tension. Make this a routine like brushing teeth.
4. Strengthen your core; knees, lower back & hips: As the toe cannot absorb the ground force when walking as it should (most of the ground force in gait is absorbed by the big toe), these forces are absorbed further up the chain (most hit his the knee then starts the hip, lower back and even the neck, yes the limited toe might be causing neck pain too). Help those parts to stay strong before they cause you other troubles and so they can cope with that: strengthen Quadriceps, stretch hamstring; strengthen lower back and hip. There are very simply low impact excersises for that (if interested i am happy to share). Pilates is a saver!
5: anti-inflammatory power of Ginger (cheap): i make tea from fresh Ginger adding honey and cinammon.
Finally, be careful with cortisone injections, something I found offered often by Traumatoligsts on the spot. I suspect it fast way to make money bc. its covered by healthcare at least here). I have heard from professional dancers it stops their pain for some months (up to three) where they felt like in heaven only for the pain to come back 10 times worse after. Meanwhile they have pushed their normal routines only to come back much worse than before.
New treatments: I am saving up and want to try own plasma injections or hyaluronic acid to lubricate the joint. But much later in my recovery.
Take care everyone and i hope Jace you are doing great.
Dear Jace
thank you so much for this blog. It is very encouraging to hear. I had my Cheilectomy today for Stage I/II Hallux Limited. I damaged my toe from years of ballet dancing (passion / hobby only). The surgery was done minimally invasive. I had local anestesia only. Did you need to take heparin injections afterwards? The ankle block is quite strong and i cannot feel much at this point, but keep moving my whole leg up and down, side ti to side to keep the blood flowing. I wonder of there are any dancers out there who can share their experience and tips?
Hi Natalie, I was put to sleep during the event, and simply alternated between hydrocodone and ibuprofen afterwards when I woke up shortly after the surgery. And I would think there would be many more dancers that would end up with this surgery, especially those ballet dancers that are on their toes often. Seems like our human toes live to build up spurs in the bone to prevent further damage. But I also think our bodies over react at times and this is one of those in my opinion.
Had the surgery 12 hours ago. Nerve block still completely working. Have taken no meds. Seems too long for that.?? Nervous about that.
Anybody that also had a nerve have comments? Appreciate any suggestions or help. Thank you for doing this blog
Hi Diane, I never had the nerve block, as I was decided on just being asleep during it. Afterwards, just alternated hydrocodone and ibuprofen as directed and went well. But I did have a nerve block when I had my shoulder surgery, and can tell you it lasts for the day pretty much. My entire arm was numb and couldn’t move it until later that day. Was kinda freaky and cool at the same time. Good luck.
Hi Jace,
Dear Jace,
Thank you so much for documenting your experience. Truly appreciate it. I am in my 50s and I got my Cheilectomy and an Akin osteotomy on stage 2 hallux rigidus yesterday. I am using your day by day documentation as a reference. I took oxycodone the day 0 (2x5mg tabs in all, one 3 hours after the surgery and one at night before bed) now alternating tylenol and ibuprofen for pain management. So far so good. This literally has taken the unknown out of the picture and I feel much much better knowing that I can consult this resource.
Great to hear, and glad my documented experiences are helping. That was the goal. Good luck with your progress.
Thank you for documenting and sharing your experience. My surgery has been scheduled for July 7 and I am trying to set realistic expectations and get as much as I can ready while I am still mobile. My surgery will be slightly different from yours – right foot cheilectomy and osteotomy with plantar release, left foot plantar release, I’m not clear if my surgeon is going to leave the heel spurs or remove them too. My understanding is that the plantar surgery is a much easier and quicker recovery than the big toe issue.
Keeping in mind that my heels will also be out of commission for a while, what sort of assistance would you recommend for when I can start to be up and about again? Crutches, cane, walker? I will of course ask at my pre-op appointment, but I am interested in your thoughts. Fyi, I am an otherwise healthy 35 year old woman.
Your welcome, and good luck with the upcoming surgery. I am not sure to what extend the heels of the feet will be affected post-surgery. But I do know I leveraged those areas (and side of the foot) pretty heavily at the beginning to avoid any pressure/bending on the toe. I am sure they will have you rest / elevate feet for the first several days; and crutches are probably key to getting around in the beginning. Will have to let us know it goes. Again, good luck.
Thanks for the info! My doc told me I would not be able to stand or walk at all for at least two weeks, which sounds kind of scary to me. My husband just bought a wheelchair on Amazon, I think partly because he wants to play with it an do wheelies, and partly so I can still “walk” the dog. At least I will have the option of the wheels if things are really rough. We will see. Thanks again for documenting your experience. It has been helpful and makes me feel hopeful!
Thanks for writing this blog! Just a question how is your foot doing now? Are you able to play sports again? Guess I’m a little scared of having Surgery but I’m ready to have the pain gone from just wearing normal shoes. How long was your recovery process?
Your welcome, I hope it helps. I Just finished my 3rd week of playing indoor (with shoes of course) volleyball (competitive league) and it did great. Didn’t notice it. Prior to surgery (before I realized I needed it), my toe would hurt very bad and throb for days after. I will note, I am still cautious about playing summer sand league (barefoot). But thats another 4 months out before that starts.
I’m having this done on Wednesday.
Had this done a week ago. Same surgical sandal btw. No pain at all. My incision was done on the side of the toe, which was the preference of the second opinion doc I consulted.
Wow, glad I found your blog, I am thinking about getting this done and so far it is comforting to now what your experience was. Looking forward to the journy
Thanks Kris, curious after some time has passed. Just wondering if you went forward with this surgery?